Palestinian PM's firm 'helps build Israeli wall'

Ahmed Qureia denied that he or his family had anything to do with the the barrier

By Toby Harnden in Jerusalem

12:01AM GMT 12 Feb 2004

The family of the Palestinian prime minister has been supplying concrete for Israel's security barrier, it was claimed yesterday, as legislators launched an investigation into companies profiting from the trade.

"We want to know if this cement was used to build the barrier or any other Israeli needs," said Hassan Khreishe, a Palestinian legislator on the inquiry committee.

Ahmed Qureia, the prime minister, also known as Abu Ala, denied that he or his family's Al-Quds Cement company had anything to do with the barrier or construction work in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

"At base this is a report that is not even worth the ink it was written with," he said during a visit to Rome.

One of the most controversial sections of the barrier, due to be 370-450 miles long when completed, is a 21-mile stretch of 30ft-high concrete wall that divides East Jerusalem from Abu Dis, where Mr Qureia lives.

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Israel's Channel 10 television broadcast the allegation, which Mr Khreishe also denied. "There are several names mentioned, but for sure, the name of Abu Ala is not mentioned in this issue," he said.

Television showed cement mixers leaving the Al-Quds company and apparently driving to the nearby Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, just a few miles away.

Mr Qureia, like all leading Palestinian politicians, has vehemently opposed both the barrier and Jewish settlements. Proof that his family company had helped build the Abu Dis wall would probably lead to his stepping down.

Journalists who went to the Al-Quds factory yesterday were told by workers that the company belongs to the Qureia family but managers refused to talk.

Jamal Shati, another member of the inquiry committee, said: "This is a very dangerous national issue. This is something that belongs to the core of the Palestinian cause."

Many of the workers involved in erecting the fence are Palestinians, some of whom have also been paid for building houses in Jewish settlements. The United Nations International Court of Justice is due to hear a case about whether the barrier, which is designed to stop suicide bombers but cuts into the occupied territories, is legal.

An Israeli government source said it was "60 per cent likely' that Israel would boycott the ICJ hearing. Britain, America and the European Union are all opposed to the route of the fence but have argued that the issue does not fall within the jurisdiction of the court.

The hearing wil go ahead before the jurisdiction issue is resolved. The court is then likely to take several months before reaching a decision.

Some senior Israeli politicians believe participation in the hearing would only lend credibility to what they see as an almost inevitable decision against them.

But others insist that Israel has very strong security arguments in its favour and that these need to be aired.